Tag Archives: Calexico

John Willmot penned his poetryriddled with the poxNabokov wrote on index cards,at a lectern in his socksSt. John of the Cross did his best stuffimprisoned in a boxAnd Johnny Thunders was half alivewhen he wrote Chinese RocksNick Cave (“There She Goes My Beautiful World”)

There are some songs that when you listen to them, you realize that you are listening to poetry (or in other cases, a short story) set to music. The best songs capture that art within an art – great writing and great composing – and result in something unforgettable. Which is not to say there aren’t a million songs that have great music and silly words, or wonderful lyrics and unlistenable melodies. (Of course, you never hear anything like that on Great River Radio!) But looking for songs that are well crafted in both ways is what we are all about here.

Today, GRR is going to showcase some well written songs about writers, writing and the creative process. Since this is a radio show developed by English majors, this is a Confluence theme that is close to our hearts. You’ll be hearing songs about Jack Kerouac, Emily Dickinson, John Berryman, Collette and Whitman, as well as the Nick Cave song quoted above in which he makes a plea for creativity to come down from the heavens (or at least from his girlfriend muse).

Before we get to the authors and writing Confluence, we’ll have new and local music from Rogue Valley, Elvis Costello, Sharon Van Etten and Daniel Lanois’ current project, Black Dub. Our show opener, today’s river song, will be a preview track from the Decemberist’s upcoming release, scheduled to drop in January.

Dan had a dream last night (really, he woke up and called me!) – There we were on the red carpet, cameras flashing in front of our eyes, the people on the bleachers shouting “Great River Radio!” and then someone thrust a microphone in front of him and asked “WHO ARE you wearing?” and Dan, needing to tell the truth, replied “I got this from Dayton’s in 1986 – sorry about the missing button” and then he woke up.

The Great River Radio staff likes to stay in touch with culture – we’re not exactly culture hounds, but like all good English majors, we like to see movies and then talk about them. Between songs during our show, we are often discussing something we’ve seen in the theater. But sometimes we are faced with a choice: music or movie? We can’t do it all!

This afternoon, though, we are going to happily combine our interests and play music from the movies. For the fourth year in a row, Great River Radio will get you ready for Oscar night (next Sunday) by reviewing our favorite songs from soundtracks – from the past year and earlier. We’ve talked often of the inextricable relationship between what we see on the screen and what we are listening to on the soundtrack – we’ll explore that relationship again today and ask, among other questions, why some songs are used repeatedly in soundtracks, and why some directors seem to be more gifted than others in “curating” songs for their movies.

Rather than letting you know what artists we are playing, we’ll pique your interest with movie titles. You’ll hear music from one of our favorite movies of the year “The Fantastic Mr. Fox,” from the Tween favorite “The Twilight Saga: New Moon,” and from the rugged ”Hurt Locker” and “The Road.” “The 500 Days of Summer” had a wonderful soundtrack, as did “Where the Wild Things Are.” From older films we’ll hear songs from “The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” and “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.” We’ll also be hearing songs which have been nominated for Oscars THIS year from “Crazy Heart,” “Paris 36” and “The Princess and the Frog.”

Playlist
Down In New Orleans-Dr. John
Julia’s Theme-Alexandra Desplat
All Is Love-Karen O and The Kids
Theme from The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind-Jon Brion
Unstatisfied-The Replacements
Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want-She & Him
Loin De Paname-Nora Arnezeder
The Road-Nick Cave/Warren Ellis
Orange Sky-Alexi Murdoch
All My Days-Alexi Murdoch
Heroes And Villains-Beach Boys
Let Her Dance-Bobby Fuller Four
Up In The Air-Kevin Renick
The Weary Kind-Ryan Bingham
Meet Me On The Equinox-Death Cab For Cutie
Bella’s Lullaby-Carter Burwell
The Journey Begins-Mark Isham
All The World Is Green-Tom Waits
The Way I Am-Marco Beltrami
I Can See In Color-Mary J. Blige
Playground Love-Air
Goodbye-Kevin Shields
Fools Rush In (Kevin Shields remix)-Bow Wow Wow
Pale Blue Eyes-Velvet Underground
Life On Mars-Seu Jorge

Winter’s longest night arrived with little fanfare yesterday. And for the next three months, those of us living in the Northern Hemisphere will plod on through the cold and frequent snow reminding ourselves that spring is just a few short months ahead. It is the season waiting. Waiting for gifts. Waiting for spiritual nourishment. Waiting for family or friends. Waiting for change. Waiting for the unknown.

As we have for the last three years, Great River Radio will bring you the songs of the season this afternoon in our much-anticipated holiday music show. You’ll hear beautiful songs from Alison Moyet, Kate and Anna McGarrigle, Over The Rhine, Mike Doughty, Mark Mothersbaugh, Tony Bennett, Low, Feist, Bob & Hilary James, Calexico, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald and many more. We’ve spent weeks getting the song selection just right … and we know you’ll enjoy our thoughtful selections.

It’s certainly a busy season, but hopefully you’ll have some time to sit back, relax and enjoy this mix of some of our favorite holiday songs. Tune in live from 4-6 p.m. today, or listen to the show later via our archive here at the Great River Radio site. We’ve had many listeners tell us that they enjoy listening to holiday show while wrapping last-minute presents … or when they finally get a chance to settle down with a favorite book in front of a fire. Whatever the time or reason, please join us as we experience the joy of the season through music.

Great River Radio will be taking our usually holiday break during the next couple of weeks, but we won’t be sitting idle. As many of you know, we’re putting together the most expansive and ambitious Great River Radio show ever – “A Decade of Influence.” We’ve been looking back at old playlists, exchanging ideas and receiving recommendations from you to determine the most influential music of the “Aughts.” There’s still plenty of time to get your selections in before the show. Just visit our “Decade of Influence.”

Catch us live today, Dec. 22 at 4-6 p.m. (CST) via the KUST stream
iChat or AIM in the studio: kustradio

Thank you for your participation and listenership all year long. We are grateful to be part of this growing music community. Peace and love to all of you and your loved ones during this time of great anticipation.